Hilton CEO's 10x Plan for India: 30 Hotels Today, 300 in a Decade
India is not an easy market and global brands have made numerous mistakes along the way. But it's too big a customer base to ignore.
Hilton said Tuesday it plans to grow its presence in India by 10 times over the next 10 years. Right now, Hilton has 32 hotels up and running in India, with 29 more in the works.
Over the next couple of years, the company plans five new Hilton brands will launch in the country. That starts this year with the Curio Collection by Hilton in Bengaluru and the first Signia by Hilton in Jaipur.
More high-end offerings are also on the way, including LXR Hotels & Resorts in Bengaluru in 2026 and Waldorf Astoria in Jaipur by 2028. India will be the first market in Asia Pacific to debut Hilton's entry-level brand - Spark by Hilton. Hilton has plans for 150 Spark properties in India with the first one coming up in Goa.
'There's no market with more opportunity and higher growth than India,' Hilton's President and CEO Christopher Nassetta said during the Hilton Brand Showcase in Bengaluru on Tuesday. 'What's been happening in the hospitality market in India over the last 20 years and what will happen in the next 20, there's no other market that has more opportunity.
The Mid-Market Boom Focus
While luxury hotels are part of Hilton's expansion, the real focus is on India's fast-growing middle class. Nassetta summed it up plainly: 'The mid market is where the game really is.' This is where brands like Spark by Hilton and Hampton by Hilton come into play.
Skift had earlier reported that Hilton has signed an agreement with Indian hotel management company NILE Hospitality to introduce 75 Hampton by Hilton properties across the country. There is currently just one Hampton by Hilton property in India, located in Vadodara.
Spark, a newer addition to the Hilton family, sits in the premium economy space and is growing fast. 'The potential for a Spark in this market is into thousands of hotels… the potential is much much greater,' Nassetta said.
Hilton's strategy is to offer something for every kind of traveler — from budget-conscious to high-end luxury. 'It's fairly easy to figure out what brand makes sense,' Nassetta explained. 'It really is driven by what the customer wants and what the customer will pay for… Spark will work in primary cities, primary resorts, secondary and tertiary type of locations because the rate structure of it, is such.'
Hilton is also exploring new lifestyle-focused brands. After acquiring NoMad, the first deal was signed for Singapore's Orchard Road, but India is on the radar too. When asked if NoMad has a place in India, Nassetta was clear: 'Absolutely.'
India's Changing Travel Landscape
More than 100 million people are expected to join India's consumer class in the next five years, and the country's roads, airports, and train networks are expanding quickly.
'The infrastructure build happening in India is giving India a real momentum in the travel tourism space,' said Alan Watts, president, Asia Pacific, Hilton. 'The Indian hospitality space is exploding on the back of that infrastructure.'
By expanding into tier 1 cities, major resort destinations, and also tier 2 and 3 towns, Hilton hopes to build a loyal customer base that sticks with them globally.
Lessons from India
Hilton's path in India hasn't been easy. 'India for us has been a hard road, harder than almost any other market on earth… there were times where we did not have the right partners or the right type of hotels or locations,' said Nassetta.
However, things have changed now and he believes that the company has now hit its stride. 'I think we now have spectacular partners, locations, and hotels,' he said. 'That's why you're seeing this momentum pick up.'
Recent partnership deals have helped build a strong pipeline. 'These are real deals happening and not a pipe dream,' the Hilton CEO stressed.
As Nassetta put it, 'We're not going anywhere… There is no going backwards.'
What am I looking at? The performance of hotels and short-term rental sector stocks within the ST200. The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets, including international and regional hotel brands, hotel REITs, hotel management companies, alternative accommodations, and timeshares.
The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number. See more hotels and short-term rental financial sector performance.
Read the full methodology behind the Skift Travel 200.
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